'We all just went out there and nailed it': Algonquin girls' gymnastics captures Mid-Wach meet title

SHREWSBURY — As Algonquin sophomore Kiera Akus stepped up to the mat in the middle of Shrewsbury High School’s field house, all eyes were on her as she was the final performance of the afternoon.

With the Titans trailing Groton-Dunstable, she needed to nail her floor exercise routine. And after one deep breath, she earned a 9.25 to give Algonquin girls' gymnastics the title at the Mid-Wach Championship, defeating the Crusaders by six-tenths of a point, 139.55-138.95.

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“I think (with the) floor, we all had super high energy, and we all just went out there and nailed it,” Akus said.

Maddie Ho, Akus’ teammate and senior captain, came in second on the floor with a 9.2. Fellow senior captain Erica DeMichaels came in fifth at 9.15.

“We had some season highs on floor,” Ho said. “And I think the energy on the floor is really a team effort. The scores on the floor are a team effort because when you hear everyone cheering and clapping for you, it really brings out the best in you.”

“The girls just had the perfect combination of power but also controlling their landings, and that reflected in the scores,” said Angela Keith, in her second year as Algonquin coach.

Akus came in second in the all-around with a 35.25 score. Ho (35.15) was in third.

Hampered by a fall in the vault, Groton-Dunstable senior Charlotte Woodbury, last year’s all-around gymnastics champion, came in fourth at 35.1. Junior Samantha DiFonte, Woodbury's teammate, won the all-around in 36.6 and was named league MVP.

DiFonte finished strong, winning the vault (9.5) and tied Akus for first place on the beam with a 9.0.

Woodbury dominated the bars with a 9.25. She tied for second with Ho on the floor routine with a 9.2.

“It feels really good,” Keith said about the Titans winning their first Mid-Wach title under her watch. “They’ve worked so hard this season and have not let up, up until the very end.

“Coming into this meet, I told them that the result does not matter," she added. "We know we’ve given absolutely everything to this season, and the results are the results, and I think they did reflect our hard work that we’ve put in.”

—Contact Ethan Winter at sports@telegram.com.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Algonquin girls' gymnastics puts it to floor, captures Mid-Wach title